Lake Erie Monsters pound Milwaukee Admirals, 6-1

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- On Friday night at The Q, Monsters left winger David van der Gulik returned to the lineup after missing 11 games because of injury. He failed to score but contributed in smaller ways in a victory over the Milwaukee Admirals.

On Saturday night at The Q, van der Gulik also tended to the big stuff. He notched a natural hat trick over the second and third periods to propel the Monsters to a 6-1 rout of the Admirals.

Mark Olver had a goal and three assists and goalie Sami Aittokallio played superbly as Lake Erie (17-13-0-3) won its second in a row and fifth of seven. Lake Erie improved to 12-6-0-1 at home, including seven victories in the last eight.

The Monsters have won the first two of a four-game season series against Milwaukee (16-10-5-1). On Friday, they set a franchise record for fewest shots allowed (14) in the 4-2 conquest. They beat goalie Scott Darling twice; Darling entered the set at 7-1-0 with a 1.43 goals-against average and .955 save percentage.

Lake Erie went 4-0-0-0 against Milwaukee last season and leads the all-time series, 13-5-3-1.

"That's a good hockey team over there,'' Monsters coach Dean Chynoweth said. "To get the four points is huge, especially with us going on the road.''

The Monsters are on the road for five straight games. They do not return to The Q until Jan. 23 against Rochester.

Saturday night's contest featured a veritable hockey cornucopia for the crowd of 9,045, the radio listeners, and the WUAB/TV 43 viewership. When the Monsters weren't scoring goals, they were out-hustling and out-muscling an opponent that didn't take losing well. The teams combined for 27 infractions for 120 minutes.

"That was a great hockey game for the home crowd,'' van der Gulik said. "It had everything. Hopefully, a night like this brings more fans.''

For all of van der Gulik's brilliance, he briefly was forced out of the limelight midway through the third period. With the Monsters ahead, 5-1, Aittokallio and Darling skated to center ice and squared off. They tugged at sweaters and landed punches before exiting to their respective locker rooms, teammates laughing and applauding.

Count Chynoweth among the few who were not enthused. Chynoweth already has seen enough injuries this season.

"It always makes me nervous when goaltenders fight,'' he said. "Sami was playing very well.''

Aittokallio, who said he would not have tangled if the game outcome had been in doubt, expressed disappointment in his performance as a pugilist. At 6-1, 175, he struggled with the 6-6, 190-pound Darling.

"It didn't go too well,'' said Aittokallio, who suffered several scrapes to his face. "I forgot he's a big boy. He got me a couple of times. I think I got him at least once -- I hope.''

Oh, by the way: Aittokallio stopped 21 shots before giving way to Calvin Pickard, who was 1-of-1 in the final 9:45. Aittokallio and Pickard have been sharp in the midst of a healthy competition for starts.

Monsters center Joey Hishon opened the scoring at 14:30 of the first. When J.T. Wyman put the puck on net, Darling kicked it out front, where Hishon pounced for his fifth.

The Admirals tied it at 15:27. Then van der Gulik took over.

Inside the first minute of the second period, van der Gulik created a play on the left side and eventually fed Andrew Agozzino, whose shot was stopped. van der Gulik punched in the rebound from the top of the crease for his fourth. With Lake Erie on the power play at 8:47, he secured Olver's carom off Milwaukee defenseman Bryan Rodney's glove and beat Darling from the slot.

Even when van der Gulik made a mistake, it worked out. At 19:57 of the second, he closed his hand on the puck for a penalty. Moments after the Monsters killed the penalty early in the third, Olver chipped the puck to an open van der Gulik, who out-foxed Darling with a backhander at the right post.

"vandy does so many things well,'' Chynoweth said. "He's under-appreciated for his defensive play. He's probably our best guy along the boards. He goes to the right spaces. (Saturday) he was rewarded for it.''

van der Gulik missed the first eight games of the season because of a knee injury. He returned for 12 but was sidelined again because of a broken bone in his foot.

"It feels good to be back,'' he said. "It feels even better to be back for these past two two games.''

Later in the third, Karl Stollery scored after the puck struck iron, then Darling's leg, then crossed the line. The #Monsters accounted for the final margin on Olver's power-play tally.

Follow Us

cleveland.com is powered by Plain Dealer Publishing Co. and Northeast Ohio Media Group. All rights reserved (About Us).The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Northeast Ohio Media Group LLC.